Employees at the Isle of Wight's four major transport firms are being vaccinated against coronavirus, Isle of Wight Radio can exclusively reveal.
A change in Government guidance - and the fact that people are not turning up for their appointments - has made it possible.
The Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) says vaccination sites have a back-up list in case of no shows - and those "helping to keep the Island's infrastructure moving" have been able to take advantage.
The Island's three cross-Solent operators - Wightlink, Red Funnel and Hovertravel - have all told Isle of Wight Radio that their employees have been given inoculations.
Wightlink's FastCat has been suspended since December.
Wightlink and Red Funnel say that, between them, nearly 200 staff have been vaccinated or have signed up.
Workers at the Island's bus company, Southern Vectis, have also had the jab.
Why do Island transport staff qualify for a vaccine?
Staff in "high risk" settings such as schools still do not qualify.
But all of the Island's transport staff who have been offered vaccinations are eligible, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust has told Isle of Wight Radio.
This is because of an adjustment made to one of the Government's four priority categories earlier this year.
The priority list states that Islanders aged over 70 years of age, those who are clinically vulnerable, and frontline Health and Social Care staff are among those who qualify for a jab.
The ferry firms qualify as they're supporting the Island's response to the pandemic.
However, one of the cohorts was expanded, allowing transport staff to fall under the 'Health and Social Care' category due to their work supporting NHS services.
An NHS spokesperson said:
"Local vaccination sites manage their appointment lists to ensure all appointments are filled and so they have a back-up list of patients and staff that help keep the Isle of Wight infrastructure moving, in the top four cohorts, who can receive the vaccine at short notice, nobody outside of these cohorts has received a vaccine.”
The CCG says the Island's cross-Solent operators bring patients and staff to and from the mainland - as well as transport the vaccine over - meaning they can qualify.
Coronavirus and the Island's cross-Solent operators
Red Funnel says 91 staff members have been offered a vaccine.
The firm is currently operating a reduced timetable on its routes caused by the pandemic.
Southern Vectis staff have also been vaccinated.
However, it insists vaccines for its staff are necessary, despite falling passenger numbers.
A spokesperson said:
“Red Funnel was contacted by the Isle of Wight NHS Trust to inform us that Red Funnel employees who are public-facing and Isle of Wight residents are eligible for vaccination due to the critical role they play in ensuring essential cross-Solent services are maintained. At this time, a total of 91 vaccine appointments for staff members who meet this criteria have been scheduled. We can confirm that vaccines have NOT been offered to any staff in non-public-facing roles, including those who exclusively work from home.
“Anything that can be done to strengthen the resilience of our service and support the health and safety of our key workers, and the customers they serve is very welcome. Keeping our frontline teams as strong and healthy as possible, across all three cross-Solent ferry operators, puts us all in a better position to maintain our vital services, including the reliable movement of freight and supplies, and support for Islanders who still need to travel for essential reasons.”
Like Red Funnel, the pandemic has also affected Wightlink.
Its FastCat service is suspended altogether and sailings on its Yarmouth to Lymington route have also been cut.
A spokesperson said the vaccinations will help keep remaining crossings moving:
"The NHS on the Isle of Wight has offered vaccinations to ferry workers who are maintaining lifeline sailings transporting food and other essential supplies to the Island and enabling key workers to cross the Solent.
"101 of Wightlink's crew members and port workers, who come into contact with customers every day, have been vaccinated at centres on the Isle of Wight. All of them live on the Island."
All three cross-Solent operators say their staff were approached by the NHS.
Hovertravel's Southsea service recently added extra crossings to help cope with additional passengers who can no longer catch the FastCat.
It has also helped the NHS to transfer around 200 stretcher patients across the Solent during the pandemic.
A spokesperson told Isle of Wight Radio:
"Hovertravel was invited by the NHS to forward an offer of a vaccination to all its frontline staff operating the route between Ryde and Southsea. Hovertravel’s privacy policy means that it did not record which individuals accepted the offer from the NHS."
The NHS insists it is prioritising people most at-risk of COVID-19.
It says it aims to offer everyone in the four groups a vaccination by the middle of February.
Southern Vectis told Isle of Wight Radio it endorsed the NHS' statement and would not be issuing one of its own.
*Updated 8.40am Friday (29)
Richard Tyldsley, Southern Vectis general manager, said:
“I can confirm that key workers from Southern Vectis received their first Covid-19 vaccination this week, following an approach from the Island’s Hospital Hub. I would like to thank all those involved in this effort, which we had to turn around at short notice. This vaccine will provide our team members with additional protection against the virus, while they provide a vital service for NHS workers and patients travelling across the Island.”
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